Cowboy Thorn: 3 straight losses to OSU rankle Sherman

COLLEGE STATION – One of Mike Sherman’s biggest irritant over his three previous seasons at Texas A&M has been the Aggies’ inability to beat Oklahoma State, with two close calls in the last two encounters. Sherman addressed it this summer, when asked about opening Big 12 play earlier than usual against the Cowboys.

“We’ve lost to them three games in a row, and that’s a key game on our schedule,” Sherman said. “We’ve put a lot of effort into that in the offseason, to see exactly what they’re doing, and how we can play better and coach better.”

So with the first top 10 showdown since 1975 at Kyle Field looming at 2:30 p.m. Saturday between the seventh-ranked Cowboys and eighth-ranked Aggies, below are excerpts from game stories of Sherman’s three previous frustrating collisions with OSU:

No. 21 Oklahoma State hammered the Aggies 56-28 before 51,147 fans in Boone Pickens Stadium in the teams’ league opener. Afterward, A&M defensive lineman Lucas Patterson offered a lesson in football basics – one he says the Aggies must grasp if they’re to stand a chance in the Big 12.

“It’s a four-quarter football game,” Patterson said. “You can’t play one half – and then take the other half off.”

The Aggies (2-3, 0-1 Big 12) had managed a break-even nonconference record against mostly subpar competition under first-year coach Mike Sherman. But five first-half turnovers marked a sloppy start to league play for A&M.

The Aggies out-gained OSU 402-401 in total offense – and still lost by four touchdowns. The Cowboys (5-0, 1-0) snapped a four-game A&M winning streak in the series, earning some revenge for consecutive one-point losses to the Aggies.

Oct. 10, 2009
COLLEGE STATION – Texas A&M cornerback Dustin Harris, long after deflated Aggies fans had filed from Kyle Field, relived the critical moment time and again. Each time it ended with the same nightmarish result.

“I had the ball in my hands,” Harris said. “And it just slipped right through.”

Harris, a freshman, can take comfort in that he wasn’t alone on that front, following No. 15 Oklahoma State’s 36-31 victory over A&M before 76,153 fans in the teams’ Big 12 opener.

Because even the senior Aggies let balls slip through their hands. And now A&M, losers of two straight with two road games ahead, must guard against the season slipping away at its midway point.

“There are no moral victories because we played hard and tough,” A&M coach Mike Sherman said.
“It wasn’t good enough.”

“Hopefully our program is far enough along that when we have an All-American out for a game or two that our younger players will step up,” OSU coach Mike Gundy said.

The Aggies led 15-7 late in the second quarter when OSU quarterback Zac Robinson heaved a pass for Hubert Anyiam in the end zone. Harris played the ball perfectly, but it deflected off his hands and to Anyiam for a 27-yard touchdown.

“That’s a game-changing play – if you make the play,” Harris said.

Sept. 30, 2010
STILLWATER, Okla. – Beneath the bright lights and before a nation’s eyes on Thursday night, several things became glaringly evident about Texas A&M.

The mistake-prone Aggies are at least resilient. They still have an aversion to television, too, even if keeping fans on the edge of their couches late. And, above all, they can’t stand prosperity.

After leading Oklahoma State by two touchdowns at halftime, the Aggies crumbled in the third quarter and trailed by two touchdowns themselves early in the fourth, before mounting their own stirring comeback.
Only to watch Cowboys kicker Dan Bailey boot a 40-yard field goal as time expired for a gripping 38-35 OSU victory before 48,284 fans in Boone Pickens Stadium.

In doing so, A&M (3-1 overall, 0-1 Big 12) lost its 10th consecutive game on TV, and more importantly its conference opener in a contest that looked mightily promising early for the Aggies, who blinked big-time in the second half against OSU (4-0, 1-0).

“That was quite a game,” Cowboys coach Mike Gundy said. “I don’t know if I can remember a game that had as many turns emotionally – for both teams.”

When Bailey kicked his game-winner, OSU players stormed the field in celebration, while the Aggies trying to block the kick dropped to their knees and hindquarters in disbelief.

Bailey’s boot was set up by A&M quarterback Jerrod Johnson’s fourth interception on the night, when Shaun Lewis stepped in front of a wobbly pass and returned it 28 yards to the A&M 40-yard line with 16 seconds remaining.

“It’s unfortunate at the end we tried to muscle one in there,” A&M coach Mike Sherman said.

Johnson, the Big 12’s offensive preseason player of the year, threw eight interceptions all last season – but now has eight in his last two games. Questions persist about his arm strength a third of the way into the season. He underwent shoulder surgery in January, and struggled throughout camp and now the first four games with putting zip on the ball.